Article and Photos by Najib Aminy

The Stony Brook men’s football team trampled their way to victory against Colgate University on August 31, by the final score of 42-26. The Seawolves’ solid running offense and strong defense sent Colgate back to wherever the hell Colgate University is.

With four different running backs, Stony Brook scored twenty-eight unanswered points, leaving Colgate with a huge mountain to climb. Leading the way, quite literally, was freshman Edwin Gowins (Bellport, NY) who exploded off the line of scrimmage, leading the team with a net total of 147 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Junior Conte Cuttino (Uniondale, NY) was not far behind, treading a total of 104 yards with a touchdown.

Also making his career debut alongside Gowins was red shirted freshman quarter-back Dayne Hoffman (Ada, Michigan). Coming of a hiatus dating backing to fall of 2006, Hoffman threw sixteen times with eight completions and one interception. Although these aren’t fantasy stats, Hoffman managed to connect with both senior Lynell Suggs (Bronx, NY) and junior Donald Lee (Clifton, NJ) for impressive gains. Hoffman scored his first college career touchdown with a 49-yard pass to Suggs early in the third quarter.

With a 28-6 lead at the close of first half, Stony Brook came out a little sluggish in the third quarter. “We performed very well on both sides of the ball in the first half. We might have scored a little too quickly in the second half and lost our concentration a bit, we are a better football team than we played at times in the second half. But we came back and made crucial stops and controlled the ball in the fourth quarter,” said third-year head coach Chuck Priore.

While the offense was scoring, the defense prevented any comebacks from Colgate. For the first half, the defense seemed to be nearly flawless, intercepting the ball twice, stopping Colgate in the red-zone, and surrendering only six points. However, the third quarter proved to be the giving point as Colgate tried to make the game somewhat respectable. Note: the key word is “tried”.

Despite being outscored in the second-half 20-14, Stony Brook’s defense recorded a total of three interceptions and one sack for a loss of twelve yards. Snagging the interceptions were former Michigan player Chris Richards (Quartz Hills, California) and junior Cory Giddings (Ocean, NJ). Richards, a junior, played two seasons at Michigan before transferring to Stony Brook where he sat out the 2007 season. Red-shirted freshman Ryan Haber (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) was responsible for Stony Brook’s one sack.

Though the Seawolves have tackled their way through the Patriot League’s Colgate, the bigger test waits when they take on teams from their new division, the Big South. Though not in the same division, the Seawolves are scheduled to face The Elon University Phoenix, who are located in North Carolina, at home on Saturday, September 6. Elon University lost their opening game against Richmond University 28-10.

Hopefully, they don’t suck as much as Colgate. Colgate might as well forget about football and just stick to brushing teeth.